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experience the langley school

Winter/Spring 2012

Eighth-Graders Travel to Costa Rica

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experience The Langley School Experience is published twice a year for friends and families of The Langley School. Head of School Doris E. Cottam Editor & Designer Sharon Ifft, Director of Publications & Marketing Photographers Aki Debayo-Doherty Sharon Ifft Matthew Lester Ryan McKinney Frank McPartland

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Contents

Head of School’s Message Campus Happenings Sports Spotlight Arts in Action Langley Remembers Mark Robbins Faculty Notes Eighth-Graders Visit Costa Rica Advancement Update Alumni Profile: Bennett Silverman ’08 Class Notes

The Langley School is comprised of students, teachers, parents, and staff who believe that a diverse school community promotes learning and growth, preparing students for responsible and compassionate citizenship in the global community. We administer all programs and policies without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or any other category to the extent protected by applicable laws. The Langley School

1411 Balls Hill Road

McLean,VA 22101

Phone: (703) 356-1920

Fax: (703) 790-9712

www.langleyschool.org

head of school’s Message Dear Langley Friends... It’s been a year of firsts for Langley’s eighth-grade class. They are the first group of our students to pilot a new iPad program, which you’ll read more about in our summer issue, and the first class to take a school-sponsored international trip. Our cover story this issue focuses on the eighth grade’s week-long adventure in Costa Rica in September. Although our Middle Schoolers traditionally have taken two overnight trips per year, these trips have been limited to domestic locations. We felt that by traveling to another country, we could expose students to a culture different from their own and take them outside their comfort zones – a life-changing experience which would help them develop greater independence, leadership skills, and cultural awareness. Why Costa Rica? In addition to having rich cultural traditions, Costa Rica has the added benefit of being an extremely eco-friendly country which uses its natural resources effectively to protect the environment. A key aspect of the trip involved educating our students about the importance of environmental sustainability to encourage them to take their roles as stewards of the Earth seriously. From visiting banana plantations and farms to rain forests and landfills, our students were inspired by how the citizens of Costa Rica value their resources.They returned to Langley full of ideas to help us become a more eco-friendly community. For a detailed account of this amazing trip, see eighth-grader Kristin Joostema’s wonderful diary on page 16.

niversary in 2012. Although our alumni have fond memories of the years they spent in our current Middle School, this new building will better meet the needs of our outstanding program for grades 6-8 and will provide our Middle Schoolers with a state-of-the-art facility in which to learn. The new Middle School will be more than triple the size of the current facility and will include three floors, indoor hallways and restrooms, lockers, modernized science labs, and an outdoor classroom on the rooftop. See page 21 for additional information about how you can get involved in this exciting project. I’m so proud of all we are accomplishing at Langley, both in our Middle School and in each grade level.Through our curriculum, facilities, resources, field trips, and programs, we are preparing our students to be confident, successful, and contributing citizens of the world.

Doris E. Cottam Head of School

We are also thrilled to announce the launch of our campaign to build a new Middle School facility.The $10 million campaign – dubbed “Building on a Foundation of Excellence” – kicks off as we celebrate Langley’s 70th an-

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campus Happenings Fifth-Graders Participate in First Overnight Trip Langley fifth-graders spent two days in late September at Camp Highroad near Middleburg,VA, for their first Langley overnight trip.Through a variety of team-building activities, the class learned to work together to solve problems and overcome challenges.

lar zip-line were other activities that helped the fifth grade bond as a group. Mrs. Gustin’s famous stories around the campfire, now a Camp Highroad tradition, along with homemade s’mores capped off a memorable adventure.

Students learned wilderness survival skills such as how to start a fire, build a shelter, make tea out of wild berries, and make drinking cups out of bamboo. Canoeing, hiking, taking a tractor ride, and sailing through the air on the popu-

“Throughout the fifth-grade year, we are preparing our students for Middle School,” says grade 5 teacher Mrs. Gustin. “This trip builds cohesion within the class that creates a strong foundation for the year ahead.”

Third Grade Launches “Pet Pals” Project Langley third-graders’ service learning focus for the year began with research on the topic of homeless animals.The children learned about the causes of pet overpopulation and explored ways that they can reduce the burden on shelters and rescue organizations in their local community. In the fall, they launched a project dubbed “Pet Pals” to collect recycled pet supplies for donation to the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF).Through generous donations by the Langley community, students collected 11 leashes, 17 collars, 52 towels, 41 blankets, five beds, two kennels, 82 toys, and over 40 pounds of pet food! Students helped collect the items from drop-off boxes all over campus, separated the supplies, and helped load boxes destined for the LDCRF.

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Sixth-Graders Bond at Calleva On September 19, the sixth-grade class and their faculty advisors bonded and learned to work as a team during their trip to Calleva, a local outdoor education center in Poolesville, MD. Calleva promotes personal growth, group cooperation, and leadership skills through outdoor activities. Students participated in a series of team and individual activities such as teamwork challenges involving balance and communication, a zip-line, a high rope trapeze personal challenge, and a tree climb challenge with repelling. As they tackled each new activity, the students learned to work together effectively, trust each other, and push their personal boundaries.

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Middle Schoolers Take Extended Field Trips Each October, Langley Middle School students travel off campus for two days of exploration, adventure, and class bonding. During this year’s trips, students in grades 6 and 7 tested the water quality in the DC area and explored the founding of our country in Philadelphia. Sixth Grade: As part of their hydrology unit in science, sixth-graders visited two separate locations to conduct water quality assessments. First, they visited Scott’s Run Nature Preserve, where they learned firsthand about the water cycle and the role humans play in contributing to water quality. Students determined the health of the water in the Scott’s Run watershed by testing for acidity level (pH), nitrogen, phosphorous, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and biology. Students also spent a day on the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers on a historically significant oyster ship called “The Halfshell.” While onboard, they cast a fishing net to help identify river wildlife, dissected clams, performed water quality tests, and learned how to navigate a ship using charts and tools on the deck. During the evening between the two trips, sixth-graders enjoyed bonding time as they spent the night in the Solomon Athletic Center for the class’ traditional overnight “lock-in.” Seventh Grade: Seventh-graders traveled to Philadelphia, PA, where they explored many of the city’s well-known museums and attractions. Students visited the National Constitution Center and the Franklin Institute Science Museum, saw the Liberty Bell, and took tours of Independence Hall and the Philadelphia Art Museum. A performance by the N Crowd improv comedy troupe and lunch at the famous Reading Terminal Market completed this memorable trip.

Happenings

Library Introduces New e-Book Collection This year, Langley’s Pat Bush Library is pleased to offer students a new online resource – a collection of e-books through FollettShelf. From The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to The Action of Subtraction, FollettShelf offers nearly 130 electronic books in a variety of subjects for all ages, and the collection continues to grow. Since e-book publishing, licensing, and delivery technologies are still developing, the FollettShelf collection contains e-books in a variety of formats. Some have audio with a “read aloud” feature, some have illustrations, and some are pure text. Students can read and “check out” e-books on any computer, place a bookmark in the book, take notes about the book, and create a wish list of titles to check out at a later date.They can also search for words within the book, look up words in the FollettShelf dictionary, and view the book’s table of contents. “Our goal is to encourage each child to develop a love of reading, whether through paper books or books online,” says Head Librarian Jan Silvano. “The addition of this e-book collection gives students immediate access to a variety of titles in an easy-to-use format.”

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Happenings

More Than 900 Attend Fall Fair More than 900 people attended the school’s 57th annual fair on October 22 and enjoyed an afternoon of fun, food, and friends! Congratulations to Fall Fair Co-Chairs Annie Dussek and Kristine Sidhu and their dynamite committee for putting on a terrific community event. The school’s parking lot was completely transformed into a truly fabulous place, with activity buzzing everywhere. The games, races, rides,

and Cake Walk were as popular as ever, the inflatables, mechanical bull, dunk tank, and 28-foot climbing wall had steady streams of visitors, the raffles had everyone crossing their fingers for the winning ticket, the hands-on projects got creative juices flowing, and the food and baked goods were devoured by all who worked up an appetite enjoying the day. Langley’s Primary School supported Alex’s Lemonade Stand at this year’s

Langley Welcomes 350 Grandparents On Tuesday, November 22, more than 350 grandparents and special friends came from around the country to participate in a memorable morning of student performances and classroom activities during this cherished annual event. The day began in the Sherman Arts Center, where students presented a series of musical performances. Students in grades K-5 each offered their own creative choreographed numbers. Langley’s after-school chorus for grades 4 and 5 presented a spirited rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” while the Middle School Symphonic Band capped off the program. Guests then moved into the classrooms to spend time with their grandchildren or special friends.Teachers planned a wide range of interactive activities for students to share with their guests such as making special crafts, playing games, reading stories, or working with technology. Led by Co-Chairs Irene Lane and Cindy Smith, Grandparents & Special Friends Day was made possible by the hard work of more than 80 parent volunteers and 17 student volunteers.The entire Langley community – faculty, staff, and volunteers – worked together to make Grandparents & Special Friends Day a memorable affair for all involved.

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Fall Fair. Alex’s Lemonade Stand helps fund pediatric cancer research by encouraging children to host lemonade stands in their communities. Our Primary Schoolers decorated a lemon tree and pitched in to help make lemonshaped Rice Krispie treats donated to the fair, while learning about the importance of helping others. In total, their efforts raised $386 for the foundation.

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Happenings

Langley Crowns Geography Bee Champion Congratulations to Langley’s 2012 National Geographic Bee winner, seventh-grader Caroline Morin, who won the competition for the second straight year. Caroline competed against nine other Langley students in grades 4-8 during this annual geography challenge on January 5 in the Sherman Arts Center.

Langley students of all ages celebrated Halloween by dressing up in a variety of creative costumes. Primary School students shared a brief musical performance for parents and Lower Schoolers took part in a Halloween parade.

Visiting Author Leads Middle School Writing Workshops Los Angeles-based children’s author and screenwriter James Otis Thach visited Langley for two days in late November to work with Middle School language arts students on developing the craft of writing.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the opening round of the 24th annual Geographic Bee is held in thousands of schools across the country and is the first step toward naming a national champion. During Langley’s competition, contestants tackled a series of oral and written questions about both physical and cultural geography, ranging from the locations of national parks to the names of rivers. Students were eliminated after giving a total of two incorrect answers, until the final two students remained – Caroline and fifth-grader Isaac Feldman. During the final round, the two squared off with a series of world geography questions. They matched each other’s knowledge on all three final-round questions, forcing the competition to a single-elimination tiebreaker. In the end, Caroline took the title by correctly answering the final question. As Langley’s winner, Caroline advanced to the next level, a written examination to determine state competitors. Congratulations to each student who participated in Langley’s Geography Bee: eighth-graders Mark Ahari (third place) and Sofia Dragacevac; seventh-graders Allie Clarke and Caroline Morin (champion); sixth-graders Ethan Kallett and Jamie Keeler; fifthgraders Isaac Feldman (runner-up) and Shane McPartland; and fourth-graders Kornelia Mostrous and Ben Warrell.

Using examples from his own writings and the works our students have read already this year, Mr.Thach explained how to create memorable characters and storylines. He then challenged Middle Schoolers to use these techniques to write and illustrate their own seven-page picture book which they shared and critiqued during the second day of the workshop. Mr.Thach first visited Langley last year when he spoke to Middle Schoolers about his picture book in verse, The Seal Pup. He has also authored A Child’s Guide to Common Household Monsters and The Tickle Monster is Coming.

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sports Spotlight

Girls’ Varsity Soccer

Boys’ Varsity Soccer

Overall Record: 6-2-2 CAC Regular Season Finish: 2nd CAC Tournament Finish: 2nd Coaches: Jamie Fabrizio & Mary Dobmeier

Overall Record: 8-2 CAC Regular Season Finish: 2nd CAC Tournament Finish: 3rd Coaches: Mark Loach & Jim Gleason

Highlights: The girls finished the season with just two losses, both to a tough Norwood team, and earned second-place honors in the regular season and Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament. In the tournament, Langley took out Immanuel Christian in the semifinals in a closely contested game, then advanced to the final where they faced rival Norwood once again.The girls kept pace with Norwood throughout the game, but fell 2-1 in overtime.

Highlights: In an extremely hard-fought season, Langley topped every team they faced in the regular season except Norwood.They went up against a strong Green Acres squad in the semifinals of the CAC tournament and suffered a heart-breaking loss in the final 10 seconds of overtime. In the tournament’s consolation game, Langley beat Immanuel Christian, 4-1.

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Spotlight

Boys’ JV Soccer

Fall Sports Awards

Overall Record: 9-2 CAC Regular Season Finish: 2nd CAC Tournament Finish: Champion Coaches: Ryan McKinney & Nick Saunders

At the Fall Sports Banquet on November 16, Langley honored the following student athletes for their individual achievements on the field this season.

Highlights: The boys’ JV team enjoyed much success this fall, finishing a close second to Green Acres in the regular season and winning the CAC championship. In the tournament, they earned a 3-1 victory over Norwood in the semifinals to set up a rematch with the undefeated squad from Green Acres in the final – a game Langley won to take home the CAC tournament title.

Girls’ JV Soccer Overall Record: 6-3 CAC Regular Season Finish: 5th CAC Tournament Finish: Champion Coaches: Ryan McKinney & Nick Saunders Highlights: Despite placing fifth in the regular season with three losses, the girls finished strong, winning the CAC tournament title.They entered the tournament as the fifth seed, but beat Green Acres 4-1 in the quarterfinals and reversed an earlier loss to St. Patrick’s in the semifinals. A 2-1 win over Immanuel Christian earned Langley the championship.

Girls’ Varsity Soccer CAC All-Stars: Allie Clarke, Ainsley Jacobs, Sabrina Kersten MVPs: Sophia DeMarco & Mia Hsu Most Improved: Tara Dilmaghani Coaches’ Award: Kristin Joostema Boys’ Varsity Soccer CAC All-Stars: Jacob Labovitz & Alex Parseghian Girls’ JV Soccer MVP: Kelsey Urbach Top Gun: Libby Szymczak Rising Stars: Julie Kenyon & Hannah Neto Coaches’ Award: Allison Franke, Dina Phipps, Katie Warner Boys’ JV Soccer MVPs: Chandler Kourtesis & Ian Singer Most Improved: Neil Coakley Top Gun: Alex Debayo-Doherty Rising Star: Jonathan Merril Coaches’ Award: Matthew Garcia Cross Country Most Valuable Runner: Caroline Morin

Cross Country

Approximately 40 Langley students in grades 4-8 ran in the annual CAC cross country meet at Norwood on October 11. Close to 350 students from nine CAC schools competed in the meet’s four one-mile races at the JV and varsity levels. Langley placed second overall as a team in the boys’ varsity, girls’ JV, and boys’ JV races, and fourth overall in the girls’ varsity race. Congratulations to Langley’s top individual finishers in the CAC meet: Bryan Calhoun & Hammy Abu-Hamda (boys’ varsity), Caroline Morin & Ainsley Jacobs (girls’ varsity), Kyle Morin & Alex Debayo-Doherty (boys’ JV), and Nikki Debayo-Doherty & Libby Szymczak (girls’ JV). Langley’s cross country team ran in four meets this fall – two home meets against Immanuel Christian, an away meet at Fourth Presbyterian with Washington Episcopal, and the annual CAC meet at Norwood. Our team, which consisted of 12 runners, had fun and improved their times throughout the season. the langley school experience

arts in Action

“Robin Hood” Plays to Enthusiastic Crowds The Middle School production of “The Adventures of Robin Hood” drew nearly1,200 people during its run November 10-12 as Robin and his Merry Men attempted to outsmart the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and rescue the kidnapped Maid Marian. Sixty students in grades 6-8 took part in this timeless classic, serving as actors on stage, assisting with sound and lighting, overseeing the action as student directors, working on props, makeup, hair, and costume design, playing music in the pit orchestra, helping create sets, and assisting with scene changes and backstage operations.

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In addition to authentic costumes and an English country dance, the show featured an archery contest and an exciting sword fight scene. Students even worked with a fight director to learn the art of stage combat. Langley also rolled out a brand new online ticketing system which allowed audience members to select specific seats in the auditorium when purchasing tickets.This new system was a big hit, further enhancing the professionalism of Langley’s productions.

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Fourth-Grade Arts Share

As part of their fine arts rotation, fourth-graders take one trimester each of art, music, and drama per year. At the end of every trimester, students present an “arts share,” allowing them to celebrate the arts in different cultures. In November, the fourth-grade classes offered their first arts share of the year which tied in with their recent study of America in social studies and language arts. The fourth-grade drama class presented a tall-tale play entitled “The Saga of Pecos Bill,” while the music class performed an American folk song and folk dance. Students who took art this trimester showcased the Native American animal masks they made using plaster, newspaper, and paint and acted out an animal of their choice. All three classes then joined together to sing the American folk song, “Erie Canal.”

Holiday Concerts

In early December, Langley musicians filled the campus with holiday cheer during the annual Lower School and Middle School holiday concerts which featured instrumental and vocal performances.

Annual Tree Lighting

On December 6, the entire school gathered to celebrate the season at Langley’s annual tree lighting ceremony. Students sang holiday carols and songs in the Solomon Athletic Center, then our youngest and oldest students – PS-AM student Levi Taylor and eighth-grader Robinson Cook – did the honors of officially lighting the tree.

The Kennedy Center TubaChristmas

2011 marked the 15th time Langley Band Director Chuck Schmidt has brought Langley musicians to play in the Washington, DC,TubaChristmas held on the Millenium Stage of The Kennedy Center. Three students joined Mr. Schmidt for this year’s performance on December 7: eighth-grader Wyatt Lindsey, seventh-grader Jack Keeler, and fifth-grader Julie Kenyon.

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faculty Notes Langley Remembers Mark Robbins

n February 8, Langley lost a beloved educator, colleague, and friend when sixth-grade language arts teacher Mark Robbins died unexpectedly at the age of 53.

Robbins helped make works that were written hundreds of years ago relevant to today’s Middle Schoolers – and in the process helped them develop a love of literature.

Mr. Robbins joined Langley’s faculty in 2004 and quickly became a highly respected member of our community. As the only sixth-grade language arts teacher on campus, he touched the lives of every single student who passed through Langley’s Middle School during the past eight years. Mr. Robbins’ passion for writing was evident as he taught his students not only the technical aspects of writing, but also the importance of expressing their own voices. He deeply valued the writing process and extensively used peer editing as a vehicle for students to share and celebrate their work.

Outside the classroom, Mr. Robbins dedicated his life to helping students successfully navigate the often challenging Middle School years. As a sixth-grade advisor and class dean, he assisted students with the transition to Middle School life. He also co-taught a study skills class, led a resistance training elective, and participated in sixth-grade trips.

A thespian at heart, Mr. Robbins enjoyed bringing literature to life through dramatic presentations. He was perhaps best known for developing the cherished sixthgrade tradition of BardFest, an annual Shakespearean festival and recitation contest in which students write and re-enact scenes from famous Shakespearean plays. Through BardFest and other creative teaching techniques, Mr.

As a lifelong learner, Mr. Robbins participated in numerous professional development opportunities during his time at Langley. He was also one of eight teachers chosen nationwide to participate in a State Department-sponsored teacher exchange program with Russia, and traveled to Russia in 2009 to learn about the education system there. When asked why he chose to take part in the program, Mr. Robbins

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“Many people don’t know that Mark started his career as a lawyer,” says Head of School Doris Cottam. “After a number of years in law, he made the conscious choice to become a teacher because he wanted to do something he felt was more meaningful. He had a true passion for teaching and was always striving for excellence.”

once said, “Pressing beyond our comfort zones is something we Langley teachers challenge our students to do every day. I could not resist challenging myself to do the same.” “Mark was both a scholar and a gentleman who always saw the good in people,” says Susan Atkinson, head of the Middle School. “He was always willing to go the extra mile, whether providing a student with extra help, mentoring a fellow teacher, or delivering sandwiches to the faculty on Fridays. We are really going to miss him.”

To honor Mr. Robbins, the school has created the Mark Robbins Memorial Endowed Faculty Fund for Humanities. If you would like to make a contribution to this fund, please contact the Advancement Office at (703) 356-1920, ext. 885 or advancement@langleyschool.org.

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Langley Faculty Speak at Statewide Conference

Faculty Kudos Language arts teacher Marena Perkins was chosen to present at the 2011 annual convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in Chicago in November which is attended by K-12 and college English teachers around the country. Ms. Perkins presented on a panel entitled “Reviving the Romantics: Connecting Texts of the Past with Readers of the Future,” an interactive session demonstrating the features of an innovative British library pilot Web site developed specifically for educators.

Notes

Athletic Director Jim Gleason was the top individual finisher in a Lance Armstrong Foundation 24-hour bike race in Stone Mountain, GA, in October. During the strenuous race, he completed 81 laps, equaling 340 miles, in 24 hours – a record on the 4.2-mile loop course. More than 400 riders took part in the race, one of three 24-hour Live Strong cycling events which raise money for cancer research. With the help of a number of generous Langley families, Coach Gleason raised $8,000 for the cause.

Langley Launches New Employee Benefit In January, Langley began offering a new benefit for our full-time employees – an on-campus early childcare center called Leopard Cubs for children of Langley faculty and staff between the ages of 6 weeks and 3 years. With the Leopard Cubs’ enrollment fee covering all expenses, this cost-neutral pilot program provides employee infants and toddlers with a safe and nurturing environment full of age-appropriate toys and activities. Offering this childcare program will help to improve Langley’s faculty/staff retention, reduce delays and disruptions often caused by childcare issues, and serve as a strong recruiting tool. There is also the potential for future leadership opportunities for Langley students. This pilot program demonstrates Langley’s commitment to our faculty and staff and helps us achieve the objectives of priority 3 in our strategic plan which charges the school with securing and retaining qualified professionals.

Seven Langley faculty and staff members gave presentations at the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) annual conference in Richmond in November. The conference drew nearly 1,000 teachers and administrators from independent schools throughout the state for a day of educational sessions on a wide variety of topics. Congratulations to the following Langley faculty and staff who were chosen to present this year: Beth Akerson, Jo Bouldin, Bill Mulcahy, & Peggy Laurent Our third-grade teachers teamed with Lower School Head Peggy Laurent to share their approach to building community by integrating the mission and philosophy of teaching, the core values, the Community Contract, and Responsive Classroom routines throughout the school day. Julie Guzzo, Alexandra Kingsley, & Amy O’Neal Langley’s kindergarten teachers shared their strategies for fostering an early love of reading and writing by encouraging handwriting, reading, and creative writing through journal writing, class-made books, interactive whiteboards, and more. In addition, Langley junior kindergarten teacher Emmy Bocek served her third year on the VAIS annual conference planning committee, helping to organize an informative and worthwhile event for Virginia educators.

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Notes

Summer Grants Provide Enriching Experiences Each year, the school awards several summer grants to faculty and staff. These grants provide professional development opportunities for our personnel to enhance their classroom skills, explore new educational trends, or pursue personal interests.

Making a Difference in Peru By Amy O’Neal, Kindergarten Teacher

his past summer, I was fortunate enough to have experienced an adventure of a lifetime thanks to The Langley School’s Jeffrey J. Sherman Grant. For two weeks in July, I traveled to Lima, Peru, to work with a volunteer organization called Global Volunteers. I was with a group of 12 volunteers from all over the United States. We were placed at a governmentrun orphanage called Puericultorio Perez Aranibar or as we referred to it, PPA. Global Volunteers has assisted PPA since 2004 to provide classrooms, books, school materials, food, a safe place to sleep, instructional assistance, and care for the children of Lima and surrounding neighborhoods. The orphanage typically holds 300 to 500 children. During our orientation class, we were presented with various ways to serve the PPA orphanage. I chose to teach English in the mornings and assist the special education teacher in the afternoons. I also helped the labor crew in painting new beds for the girls at the orphanage. While it was very difficult to teach English with limited Spanish to a group of 15 children, we all found a common ground, a common language, to understand one another. The more time I

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spent with the class, the more they trusted me, and quickly the language barrier disappeared. We took advantage of each day we had at the orphanage as we knew our time was limited; the children at PPA were so grateful for each moment we spent with them. The most humbling and overwhelming experience I had in Peru was when our volunteer group traveled with a social worker from the PPA orphanage to a shantytown which previously served as housing for the children at PPA. When we arrived at the shantytown just outside of Lima, our bus full of volunteers fell silent. No one had seen homes like these before. Families were living in homes built with anything they could find – cardboard boxes, leaves, branches. There was no water within miles, and we quickly realized what a special place PPA is for these children. With limited Internet access and cell phone service, I was allowed ample time to reflect on my experience and the children at PPA. Each day, I was overwhelmed by the lack of love, support, and care in these children’s lives and how there just had to be a way to make each child feel special. Our group would have discussions on how we could best

take advantage of the time we had with these children, and we all agreed that each smile a child gave was a success. I left Peru with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the life I have and the opportunity I was given in traveling with Global Volunteers. This experience definitely helped me grow as a teacher and develop creative teaching, communication, and teamwork strategies.

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Notes

Exploring Alaska with My iPad By Elena Meschieri, Spanish Teacher/Webmaster/iPad Program Manager

angley’s Karen D. Michalowicz Grant gave me an extraordinary experience filled with hiking, journalism, photography, and technology. Last summer, I spent a week hiking several trails in Alaska and using my iPad as a travel guide, journaling tool, and photo album. As Langley’s iPad program manager, I wanted to field test this powerful tool to see how our students could possibly use the iPad to enhance school trips in the future. My Alaskan adventure gave me the opportunity to explore the iPad to its maximum capability when used outside the classroom.The Maxjournal app allowed me to create my personal travel journal with individual settings, password control, and photo scrapbooking capabilities.The iMap My Hike app recorded the duration of each hike, distance traveled, pace, speed, elevation, calories burned, and route traveled. While the iPad’s built-in camera is a great tool, the use of the Eye-Fi app was without a doubt the best app for my trip. It’s a companion app to the Eye-Fi memory card which allows photos to wirelessly and instantly transfer from a digital camera to the iPad. As an avid photographer, I wanted to be able to take quality pictures with my Nikon dSLR and accessory lens.The Eye-Fi system allowed me to take pictures of animals far away with a powerful lens and, only a few minutes later, use those pictures in my journal or send them as an electronic postcard to my family in Argentina by using the Alaska’s app. The Alaska’s app and AAA app were great tools to check the weather, tourist attractions, and the time of sunrise and sunset, among other things. In Denali National Park, the highlight of the trip was the heli-hiking excursion which allowed me to land in the unmarked, trail-less tundra located at an altitude of 5,000 feet and make my way down the mountain in wild country. On the way down, I hiked close to caribou and Dall sheep and enjoyed a stunningly clear view of Mount McKinley. It turned out the best way to see wild animals is to take the green park buses deep into the park. So I hopped onto a bus and kept my eyes peeled for wildlife.Then while watching a patch of leaves, some movement caught my eye. Suddenly, a beautiful grizzly bear walked out into the clearing. Shortly after seeing the bear, I looked up the road and saw a beautiful grey wolf walking toward the bus – amazing luck considering that Denali National Park spans 6 million acres and there are only 70 wolves in the park. This trip was one of the most incredible ones I have ever taken. I want to thank Langley for giving me the opportunity to hike among some of the country’s most amazing wildlife and breathtaking landscapes, while exploring the many ways the iPad can enhance a trip. I hope that everyone gets a chance to make it up to Alaska at some point. If you do, don’t forget your iPad!

Hunting for My Past By Debra Gustin, Grade 5 Teacher

angley’s Kiernan Grant allowed me to do the “footwork” for research and exploration of my family genealogy. Last summer, I traveled throughout the Eastern seaboard, visiting local libraries and archives and collecting stories from family journals to enhance the genealogical research my father has done over the past 10 years. My favorite part of teaching history in the classroom is sharing historical figures’ personal stories and encouraging my students to research their own family stories, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to undertake this project myself. After some preliminary research on Ancestry.com and armed with the family information my father had collected online, I plotted my course to visit a list of towns connected to my family in some way. As I drove to various locations, the car trips often turned out to be as important as the actual research. I often had a companion along such as my sister, father, husband, daughter, or granddaughter which allowed for memories to be shared and stories to be told. It was truly a family affair.

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Notes

Volunteering in Costa Rica Gustin, continued from page 13 A few of the places we visited included Connellsville, PA, which was founded by my great, great grandfather; Elizabeth City, NC; Norfolk, VA, where both of my parents had lived; and Yorktown, VA, where my father spent his summers as a boy. The biggest portion of my time was spent reading in libraries, sifting through stacks of books, journals, and diaries looking for mention of someone on my list. I can see some people shuddering in horror at the tedium, but it was a delight for me. I found wonderful stories, many of which were not even about people in our branch of the family, but once I got into the stories, like a good book, it was hard to stop reading! I was able to piece together information about many of my ancestors, helping create a picture of the lives they led and the impact they had on my family tree. I would like to thank Langley for giving me this opportunity to explore my past. For anyone even mildly interested in their family history, I really recommend taking the time to delve into it. I can promise that the interest will not stay “mild” for long!

the langley school experience

By Chelsea Bazzle, Grade 1 Teacher

n August, I was given the awesome opportunity to go to Costa Rica and volunteer in an orphanage. I had been to the town of La Fortuna as a tourist before, right out of college. Situated at the edge of the Arenal volcano, it is a small town with a very beautiful, big Catholic Church at the center. I got to the orphanage the day I arrived in Costa Rica.Things there run on “tico time” which means there’s really no exact time for anything.The orphanage had about 16 children, from ages 1 to 10. All the children share rooms and the littlest ones sleep in cribs in their caretakers’ rooms.The children refer to these caretakers as tias, which means aunts in English. During the day, the children wake up, eat breakfast, and play.The older students go to school and I was able to walk them to school a few times and see their classrooms, all of which are cinderblock with a roof, but open to the air because there are big windows with no screens. Most of the days, I played with the littlest ones and tried to entertain them. Although there were toys at the orphanage, the children had a lot of time on their own and there were no structured activities.The tias took excellent care of the children, but were always cleaning, cooking, and washing clothes.The children had very limited social skills because they were so young or had no model, so I spent a lot of time helping remediate fights and just holding the little ones.

The orphanage is supported by an animal rescue foundation called Proyecto Asis.Their volunteer program is very large, so they send volunteers to the orphanage and also fix things and assist financially. My volunteer coordinator’s father had started Proyecto Asis and I was able to take a very special tour to see all the animals that needed rehabilitating. I had a fabulous time and it was quite an eye-opening experience. I was able to reflect on differences and similarities of life here and there. If I had the chance to do it again, I would brush up on my Spanish skills even more and come prepared with developmentally appropriate activities for the youngest children. I cannot thank Langley enough for giving me this opportunity through the Karen D. Michalowicz Grant.

langley In Depth Eighth-Graders Visit Costa Rica

n late September, Langley’s eighth-grade class traveled to Costa Rica for a six-day adventure that helped them learn about environmental sustainability, gain a new perspective from a different culture, and develop greater independence and leadership skills. It was the first time the school has sponsored a grade-level international trip for our students. Eighth-graders spent the majority of their time at EARTH University in Guacimo, Limon, Costa Rica, a four-year undergraduate institution that educates students from around the world in agricultural sciences and natural resources management. The university’s large campus includes a dairy farm, banana plantation, medicinal garden, and several local farms, all of which our students toured to gain a better understanding of how the local farmers use these resources in an environmentally friendly way. “It’s amazing how the people of Costa Rica creatively reuse everything to get the most out of what they have,” says Director of Student Life Ryan Jefferson, who organized the trip. Students learned to make boxes out of recycled paper and to grow plants in a hanging tube when there is not enough land for traditional crops, for example. The class also explored the rich biodiversity of Costa Rica, visiting a rain forest, meeting exotic creatures, sketching pictures of native plants, and enjoying spectacular views during a day of whitewater rafting. Another goal of the eco-trip was to expose Langley students to a different culture. In addition to interacting with numerous farmers, they also participated in cultural exchange activities with a group of Latin American high school students who are taking part in an intensive English program. Students enjoyed sampling the local cuisine and even learning some Costa Rican dance moves during a cultural celebration. Each evening, students gathered to blog about the day’s events and to develop a leadership plan for improving environmental sustainability at home. “This trip really brought out leadership qualities in many of our students,” says Head of Middle School Susan Atkinson. “We took them outside their comfort zones and gave them a degree of independence that they may have never had before, and I think this helped them grow tremendously as individuals.”

the langley school experience

langley

In Depth

Eighth-graders gather with fellow students from a local school in Costa Rica.

A Diary of My Costa Rica Adventure By Kristin Joostema

Day 1

I woke up at sunrise with anticipation in my heart. I was packed and ready to set out on my journey to Costa Rica. The plane ride flew by and before I knew it we were touching down in the airport in Costa Rica. After making it through customs we were met by a bus and our Global Youth Leadership Institute (GYLI) instructors, John, Jessie, and Monsarat. The bus took us on a scenic drive through the countryside where all you could see for miles were forests of green with small homes implanted in the middle of fields. I could not take my eyes off all of the people who looked so poor, yet they all looked genuinely happy. Their faces smiled up at us as the bus passed by and most were laughing with their families as they enjoyed lunch. After an hour on the bus, we arrived at a restaurant. We all got a chance to practice our Spanish, as that was all the servers spoke. We must have done pretty well because we all got what we wanted. I enjoyed a delicious empanada, a new food for me, and was completely stuffed when I finished my meal. We all got back on to the bus, stomachs full, to head to EARTH University where we would be staying for most of the remainder of our trip.

the langley school experience

We arrived at EARTH University, greeted by a beautiful scene of many different colors of plants all arranged in something like a pattern. After gazing at the pattern for a few minutes, I realized it spelled out the word EARTH! We all stumbled off the bus, bags in hand, simply dazzled by the view. We were given our room assignments, then we headed down to our rooms to unpack and relax. As I opened the door to my room, I was amazed how spacious it was. I had been imagining a cramped college dorm, but it was really more of a hotel room. We met back up on the patio for a tour of the campus before dinner. Everything was really open, much like the Langley campus, yet there was not one area that did not have some sort of living thing. We ended our tour at the dining hall and we all joined the line to eat. The food was amazing. We had such a variety of food to choose from. Everything was grown on campus, so it tasted really fresh and unprocessed. Rice and beans was a real crowd-pleaser, so we were delighted to learn that it would be offered for every meal. After dinner, we gathered on the patio to meet our GYLI instructor and the EARTH University staff. In

langley addition, we took part in some team-building and goalsetting activities. These activities included a fun game where we all had to think of a saying, tell it to the people on our right and left, close our eyes, walk around, and find our way back into the circle by listening for the sayings we had heard. Another activity involved passing around a hat of rocks that had words of inspiration on them. We all got to pick one to serve as a motivator for the week to come. My word was “health” and it really helped me in some tough situations through the week. When we all finally had our rocks, it was off to bed. We were all asleep the moment our heads hit the pillow.

Day 2

Day 2 started with an optional morning run followed by breakfast. Just as promised the night before, rice and beans was a main food item along with several other choices. Following breakfast, we divided up into our Langley advisory groups to tour a dairy farm, banana plantation, organic farm, medicinal farm, and waste management facility. These tours marked the start of our education into environmental sustainability. First on the list was the orchid farm. I got to see lots of cool plants, some of which I had never seen before, and took a walk on a path where there were so many trees and plants you could only see about 10 feet in front of and behind you. On the path, I got to see some truly amazing animals, including poison dart frogs (basically frogs that are brightly colored) and many different kinds of monkeys swinging in the trees. Then it was off to the organic and dairy farm where I learned a lot about sustainable farming and got to see how a biodigester works. A biodigester is a really awesome invention that allows farmers to put in manure and suck the methane gas out of it to use as energy for electricity. Finally it was off to the medicinal farm where we saw and ate many plants that are used to make medicine. One of my favorites was a plant that had multiple uses. If you put the juice from the stem on your tongue or anywhere on your body, it will go numb. Then if you put the leaf on your head, it will cure the worst of headaches. My other favorite was a plant called the leechee which resembled grapes enclosed in a prickly-looking outer case that you had to rip off in order to get to the sweet fruit and seeds which are used in herbal remedies. After our tours, we headed back to EARTH for another delicious meal of rice and beans before returning to the patio to start learning about the 5 C’s from our GYLI leaders – color, culture, class, character, and context. The GYLI instructors did a really great job

In Depth

What was the most memorable part of the trip? “The day we got to explore Chipeta’s farm and eat lunch with her was memorable. It was great to see that she didn’t have everything we have, but she was so happy and seemed to be very happy that we were there.” -Elena DeSanti “Walking through the rainforest was the most memorable part. I had never seen so many varieties of plants all bundled together in one place.The wildlife was amazing and the serenity of the rainforest was incredible.” -Mark Ahari “When we met the students from Pocura, it really put my Spanish to the test. It was great to communicate with them. I thought the students from Pocura would be hard to connect with, but in reality they were just like us.” -Blake Brackett “I liked how the food tasted, especially the bananas.” -Liana Ratner “Whitewater rafting was an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” -Lachlan Warrell

of getting their point across about cultural awareness by setting up a different station for each of the 5 C’s of awareness. In learning about the 5 C’s, I really started to understand how to be a little more open-minded about meeting people and how I can put myself in their shoes and imagine how they are feeling. A hearty dinner followed by a brief recap of the day’s events capped off our night. We fell asleep to the soft sounds of crickets and other animals coming out at night in the forests surrounding us.

Day 3

Day 3 started out with a breakfast just as good as the one the day before. We split back up into our advisory groups to tour a rainforest and banana plantation and started to work on our Leader Learning Plans (LLPs) that we would take back to Langley. My group started off at the rainforest where we got to get up close and personal with lots of exotic plants and animals. We saw more poison dart frogs, many insects, and some really

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In Depth

huge spider monkeys that went swinging over our heads. We even almost stepped on a baby snake that was curled up in the tile on the path we were on. Next we were off to the banana plantation. All we saw for at least 10 minutes were rows and rows of banana plants that had banana bushels covered in a blue bag with ribbons around the top. We later learned that these ribbons indicated when the bananas were to be shipped and where they were supposed to go. We got to see the workers in action as they cleaned and stickered the bananas. They were all working really hard and I was amazed at how fast they worked. It was now time for us to head back to EARTH to begin developing our LLPs, our own personal plans to help better Langley and the community around us. We all had lots of fun brainstorming ideas to help make Langley more eco-friendly and to encourage all Langley students to become more socially responsible. For lunch we had the pleasure of going to one of the local farms to meet the farmers and tour their farm. My advisory’s farmer was named Senor Fernandez and he was one of the nicest people I will ever meet in my entire life. He showed us around his property and let us swim in his creek with one of his cows. Then we walked up a huge hill back to his home where we fed his tilapia fish and he told us that he bought this 25-acre farm for only $60! The experience at the farm is one I will never forget. We were all sad to leave our farms, but exited to head back to EARTH for another delicious dinner. We met on the patio to discuss how the day went and what tomorrow 18

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had in store for us. We all had lots of fun learning the cultural dances of Costa Rica such as the maranga, kumbia, and salsa.

Day 4

Day 4 started with lots of excitement over breakfast because we were all anticipating the arrival of some high school students from Pocura, a local school. We started off with several icebreaker games to help us learn more about each other. We communicated in Spanish, while they practiced their English. I was surprised how well they spoke in English after only a few years of studying it. We then took a trip with the Pocura students to tour an area landfill. I was expecting a smelly, dirty, and horrible place, so I was really surprised when we arrived in a nice forest-like field that smelled and looked quite normal. All the trash was buried underneath us, and with the use of some natural substances, it did not smell. I learned that if we recycled all of our paper, plastic, and organics, that would be 80 percent of our trash and our landfills would be able to last at least five years longer. When we were done at the landfill, we headed back to EARTH for lunch with our new friends before learning to make some really cool recycled wallets from soda cans and milk or juice cartons. Everyone was really creative with how they personalized them and we were amazed how items we might normally throw away could be used to make such practical things like wallets. In the auditorium, we watched the students dance and sing for us. We all even got up on stage to show them the dances we had learned the night before. When the show was over, we exchanged tearful goodbyes and shared our contact

What did you learn in Costa Rica? “There are so many ways that we as students can be eco-friendly right where we live. Doing little things can really make a difference.” -Tara Dilmaghani “I learned lots of things in Costa Rica – how to milk a cow, how to speak a few words of Spanish, and a lot about biodiversity. But I’d say the most important thing was a lesson on teamwork.” -Mary Retta “The thing I learned most about was environmental sustainability, and how they, at EARTH University, put it into use.” -Scott Murphy “We all need to be leaders and we all need to take action to help the Earth. All of us have the power to plan a great project that centers around making our school more environmentally friendly. All we need to do is organize ourselves, set reasonable goals, and keep working to the final goal no matter what challenges are placed before us.” -Sofia Dragacevac “Everyone has a part in making the world a better place.” -Harrison Pratt “I learned about leadership and how to be a good leader. I also learned a lot about how to be more eco-friendly.” -Tara Prakash “Even though the students from Costa Rica are from a different country than us and speak a different language, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything in common.” -Cailin Mazan

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In Depth

information. Even though we had only spent a few hours with these kids, we already felt as though we had known them all our lives. We also had a special treat for dinner. We got to go to a cultural festival where students from EARTH performed dances from their home countries for us. We all had fun listening to the lively music and seeing all the colorful costumes that the dancers wore. Later on, we had the chance to do a little dancing ourselves to a combination of American and Costa Rican music. Back at EARTH University, we reflected on the day by posting entries on our blogs, as we did every night, so our families and friends back at Langley could follow along in our adventures. Whether writing a blog or poem or drawing a picture of something we saw, these creative outlets helped us relive each day’s events.

Day 5

On day 5, we woke up for a quick, yet tasty, breakfast then headed out to the rapids to go whitewater rafting. This was something we had all been looking forward to the whole trip. We got a safety lesson from one of the instructors then divided up alphabetically to hit the rapids. We put on our helmets and life vests, grabbed our paddles, and with a few tips from our guide we were off. Splashing down the rapids was a blast! I loved jumping in and out of the raft and trying to spin in circles on the rapids. When the ride was over, we ate lunch at the restaurant above the river. After lunch, we went back to EARTH to present our advisory’s LLP and have a closing circle. We all had some great ideas that we will hopefully get to try at Langley. We discussed our highs and lows for the week and went over our schedule before heading to a delicious dinner at EARTH. We had some free time before bed where we could write, draw, and just relax and reflect as our time at EARTH wound down.

Day 6

On day 6, we woke up and ate our last meal at EARTH University. We packed up and headed to a biodiversity museum in the town of San Jose called INBIO where we had the opportunity to see all different species of animals and plants. I loved seeing the giant iguanas that were sitting on an island in the middle of a lake. They were at least four or five feet long. We also got to walk through a butterfly habitat where lots of butterflies flew all around us. We ate lunch at a restaurant in INBIO that was very good. Then we were able to enjoy a show that INBIO put on using lights, pictures, and sound.

While in Costa Rica, students wrote poetry and created artwork based on their experiences. This piece was created by Mia Hsu.

My head was spinning as I watched different spots on the map light up and fun facts about the area’s biodiversity were read out. We departed from INBIO and headed to a nearby hotel where we would stay that night. We had a few moments to change into nice clothes and then we departed for dinner at a restaurant called Tiqizia. We drove up many steep hills to get there, but when we finally arrived the view was spectacular. The restaurant overlooked the whole town of San Jose and the lights sparkling in the night were simply breathtaking. I enjoyed my dinner immensely and really had fun watching the dancing show the restaurant put on. Some of my classmates were even taken up to dance in the show.

Day 7

On our final day of the trip, we woke up early, sad to be leaving wonderful Costa Rica. Even though we were leaving, I knew the memories I made here would stay with me forever. What I learned most from this trip is that the simple life is a good life and that we all have the power to make the world a more eco-friendly place through our leadership, whether our actions are big or small.

Kristin Joostema is an eighth-grader at The Langley School. She enjoys drama, singing, Irish dancing, and boxing.

the langley school experience

advancement Update

Langley Officially Opens New Gatehouse

n February, Langley held an informal ribbon-cutting ceremony for our newest building, the Security & Facilities Gatehouse at the campus entrance. The addition of this building has been a strategic priority as part of the school’s master plan for a number of years. In addition to enhancing the look of Langley’s entrance, the building better meets the needs of our security and facilities team with nearly triple the square footage of the old shed. Some of the key features of the building include:

yy A centrally located security office which allows our security officer to better monitor our entrance and any campus visitors

yy Office space and a workshop for our maintenance staff which provides them with ample indoor space to work and store tools

yy The addition of running water and a restroom which did not exist in the old shed

This project also included new landscaping and fencing along Balls Hill Road. A new school sign will be installed later this spring as the finishing touch to our entrance.

the langley school experience

Thank You This project would not have been possible without the support of Langley’s Board of Trustees, the hard work of our Physical Facilities Committee, and the generosity of the following donor families (pictured above with Head of School Doris Cottam and Board Chair John Clarke): Alan and Ashley Dabbiere (not pictured) Rob and Barbara Denton Steve and Annie Dussek I-Min Chao and Russell Frey Harry and Nicole Geller (not pictured) Hubin and Fanyang Jiang Tom and Randall Phillips

advancement

Update

Building on a Foundation of Excellence 70th Anniversary Campaign for The Langley School

ince our founding in 1942, The Langley School has strived for and achieved excellence by cultivating character, confidence, leadership, and intellectual curiosity in every student to develop the whole child. Today, Langley is widely recognized as a model school for our dynamic and innovative people and programs. As we celebrate our 70th anniversary and set the course for our continued growth, Langley is launching a $10 million campaign to support two critical priorities: constructing a new Middle School and strengthening the endowment to enhance our faculty and educational programs. Securing funds for these two critical areas demonstrates our commitment to creating a campus with modern, learning-centered facilities and our long-term investment in the endowment – both of which are integral to Langley’s mission. This ambitious next step is being built on the solid foundation of our history of achievement, our abiding commitment to educational excellence, and our unique spirit as the Langley community. We hope you, too, will partner with us in this effort, as the generous investment of parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and all who hold a Langley education dear will make the difference in ensuring Langley’s continued excellence and distinction, both now and in the future.

The New Middle School

This dynamic new facility boasts state-of-the-art features that will support curricular innovation and allow for the creative structuring of academic programs for generations of Langley students. Key features include:

• A building size of approximately 27,000 square feet with the footprint in the same location as the existing 8,000-square-foot Middle School

• A student commons area with lockers for storage • A three-floor design with interior corridors and restrooms • Modernized science labs for Middle and Lower School students,

allowing for the greater integration of science, technology, and math as envisioned in the nationwide STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiative • An outdoor rooftop classroom in the sky that will support environmental studies as well as more interactive, hands-on learning

The Enhanced Endowment

Key priorities to be funded with endowment income include:

• Investment in the faculty to ensure competitive salaries and benefits and support professional development

• Funding for technology initiatives, including the continued use of cuttingedge instructional technology

• Increased resources for fine arts and athletics which will support

expanded programs in drama, art, and music and enhance the competitive athletic program and coaching staff • Support for student financial aid, making a Langley education more broadly available and ensuring a diverse student body

Over the next few months, we will reach out to the members of the Langley community to discuss how you can support these key priorities and the continued growth of The Langley School. If you have any questions about the project, contact Director of Advancement Warren Sarasin at (703) 356-1920, ext. 885 or wsarasin@langleyschool.org. the langley school experience

advancement

Update

Langley Kicks Off Campaign With nearly 90 Langley friends in attendance, the Building on a Foundation of Excellence campaign kick-off, held on March 6, was a truly special event. Faculty, staff, and campaign leaders discussed the goals of the project, the history of the campaign, our accomplishments to date, and the next steps to involve the entire Langley community in the effort. So far, 124 supporters have helped us raise $7,361,567 of the $10 million goal to build a new Middle School and increase Langley’s endowment. Special thanks to the 51 loyal and committed volunteers who made this success possible.

Pictured (l to r): Head of School Doris Cottam, Head of Middle School Susan Atkinson, Board Chair and Campaign Co-Chair John Clarke, Campaign Co-Chair Mike Mendler, and Science Department Chair Ryan McKinney spoke at the campaign kick-off event.

Invitation to all Alumni:

Participate in Langley’s 70th Anniversary Campaign

he Langley School reflects a legacy of vision and investment, with each generation providing a solid foundation to ensure its current excellence and the promise of an even more distinguished future. The Building on a Foundation of Excellence campaign offers an unparalleled opportunity for alumni to make the difference in ensuring Langley’s continued excellence and distinction, both now and in the future. All Langley graduates are invited to participate in the campaign through the National Alumni Division. A volunteer-driven effort, the campaign has realized its National Alumni Division early achievements through the parCo-Chairs ticipation of current Kip Laughlin ’50 and past parents as Keith Bogans ’95 (honorary) volunteers and supporters. Alumni parVolunteers ticipation, especially Anita Butani ’97 in the early days of Paul “Chip” Coston ’73 the campaign, will Emily Duncan ’96 provide the effort Sarah Duncan ’99 with momentum Anne Laughlin ’96 for its continued Brian Pence ’91 advance and posi-

Gayle Trotter ’85

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tion Langley for future success by engaging those who best understand the value of a Langley education. The division will support three key objectives: • Recruiting volunteers for the campaign from the alumni population • Advancing the campaign’s effort to achieve the $10 million goal • Enhancing Langley’s culture of philanthropy by increasing alumni participation in the campaign and subsequent philanthropic activity Division volunteers will help organize receptions, small group meetings, phone-a-thons, and communications to share details of the campaign. Individual meetings encourage alumni investment in the campaign’s two key priorities: constructing a new Middle School and strengthening the endowment to enhance faculty and educational programs. Several alumni volunteers are already engaged in the division and working to schedule special events, including a “Farewell to the Old Middle School” which will bring alumni back to campus to see Langley as it is today and learn more about our vision for the future. For more information about upcoming campaign events or to learn how you can participate in the National Alumni Division, please contact Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Shannon Ryan at (703) 356-1920, ext. 871 or sryan@langleyschool.org.

alumni News Under the Sea: Bennett Silverman ’08

alumni profile

magine cruising the Black Sea in a research ship to study underwater volcanoes and explore shipwrecks that are thousands of years old. Most people can only experience such adventures by watching a National Geographic special on television. But Bennett Silverman ’08 lived this adventure for 10 days last summer as part of the research crew aboard the exploration vessel, E/V Nautilus. A senior at the Connecticutbased boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall, Bennett was selected to participate in the school’s prestigious Science Research Program (SRP) from fall 2010 to fall 2011. Of the approximately 60 students who apply each year, only 15 are accepted into this year-long honors program which offers motivated science students the opportunity to work in a lab with a professional scientist doing research or addressing a novel scientific question through experimentation.

understanding and analyzing the data for a controlled experiment and in writing a grant proposal and journal article about his experiment. SRP students then transition to summer research at a lab at the university or professional level. When it came time to choose his area of interest for summer research, Bennett remembered a guest lecture he had heard the year before by Dr. Robert Ballard, an accomplished deepsea explorer best known for discovering the Titanic and director of the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Ocean Exploration. “Dr. Ballard had suggested a partnership with Choate and I wanted to do field research in the physical sciences,” Bennett explains. “So I was thrilled when one of my classmates and I were asked to join Dr.

Ballard’s team as the first high school students to take part in one of his expeditions.” The partnership with Dr. Ballard’s Center for Ocean Exploration consisted of two components – seven weeks of lab work at the University of Rhode Island analyzing data from previous expeditions and 10 days of hands-on deep-sea exploration off the coast of Turkey. In June, Bennett arrived at the University of Rhode Island where he lived and worked with oceanography graduate students for nearly two months. In the lab, he analyzed data gathered in the eastern Mediterranean Sea by Dr. Ballard’s team the previous summer which included archaeological finds along an ancient shipping route and geologic features of a large seamount,

Research ship E/V Nautilus

As the first stage of the SRP program, students develop and run their own experiments in labs on campus. Bennett’s experiment – measuring the effects of varying nitrogen levels on radishes exposed to drought conditions – gave him valuable experience in

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News an underwater mountain likely formed by tectonic activity and erosion. After learning a complex 3-D computer mapping program, Bennett plotted the underwater tracks of several remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and mapped the archaeological and biological trends the team discovered. Armed with an understanding of how oceanographic field data is used, Bennett then embarked on the second leg of his adventure aboard Dr. Ballard’s research ship, a 64-meter vessel with four ROVs called the E/V Nautilus. In August, he flew to Sinop,Turkey, where he joined the Nautilus’ 48-member crew for a portion of their five-month expedition. The purpose of the Nautilus expedition was to explore ancient history and learn more about the ocean while mapping the sea floor, studying underwater volcanoes, investigating unusual life forms, and exploring ancient shipwrecks in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. A satellite dish on the ship transmitted live video and other data from the expedition 24 hours a day to the Nautilus Live Web site, allowing scientists on shore and anyone with Internet access to take part in the discoveries and submit questions to the research team. During the 10 days Bennett was on board, the ship was based in the Black Sea. “The Black Sea has some unique properties that make it a very desirable location for research,” he says. “At a depth of about 155 meters, there is an anoxic layer with no oxygen which

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means that wooden shipwrecks are perfectly preserved.” Using sonar and ROVs, Bennett and the research team located roughly 10 shipwrecks in the area, including one that had never been found before that was estimated at 2,000 years old. “One of the ships was completely exposed so we could see its ribs.We even found a piece of fabric with a button on it,” he adds. As one of the crew’s data loggers, Bennett worked with researchers to identify objects of significance on the sea floor, saved and named those targets, logged any photographs that the ROVs captured, and helped write dive reports. In addition to the shipwrecks, the team also discovered a mud volcano and took samples of the sea floor to determine how this anoxic layer affects the bottom of the Black Sea. Life aboard the Nautilus was both exciting and tiring. Bennett and the researchers worked around the clock in four-hour shifts, with an eight-hour break between each shift for sleep. “The food was great and the people were nice and extremely intelligent, but the unusual hours took some getting used to,” he says. “I think the best part of the trip was seeing how everyone worked together so seamlessly. From the navigators and ROV pilots to the videographers and engineers, everyone had a role in making the expedition a success and in broadcasting our findings to the world online.” Bennett’s unique experiences over the past year only strengthened his passion for scientific research, convincing him that he would like to pursue a career in the physical sciences with an emphasis on field work. But it was at Langley that his interest in science first began to develop. “I

still remember really enjoying the hydrology field trip we took in Mr. McKinney’s sixth-grade science class where we got to test the water quality of local streams,” he says. “During Mr. Berman’s eighth-grade science research project, I shadowed a molecular geneticist, and that’s when I realized just how much I loved science.” A “Langley lifer” who attended the school from preschool to eighth grade, Bennett credits Langley with helping him become a well-rounded person with a variety of interests beyond science. In Middle School, he played the saxophone in the Symphonic,Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Bands, took part in numerous drama productions, played soccer, and participated in MathCounts competitions. “The teachers at Langley really cared about the students,” he adds. “I felt well prepared and had an easy transition to boarding school my freshman year.” In high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, Bennett has excelled in the classroom and has taken on several leadership roles, including serving as chair of the school’s Judicial Committee this year, an elected position in which he works with deans to handle honor code infractions. He is also a member of the varsity water polo and swim teams, takes part in one-act plays, and is very active in the school’s Hillel organization. If Bennett’s accomplishments to date are any indication of his future success, it seems clear he will achieve great things as a scientist or in whatever field he chooses to pursue.

alumni

News

Class Notes 1984 Christopher Gergen lives in Durham, NC, with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Maya (6) and Liam (3). His organization, Bull City Forward – which supports and accelerates high-impact, high-growth social entrepreneurs in Durham – continues to thrive. In the fall, Christopher launched Queen City Forward to support Charlotte’s growing social entrepreneurship community. He will also join Fuqua’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship to help grow Duke University’s social entrepreneurship offerings with a specific focus on undergrads. In addition, Christopher co-authors a bi-weekly column on “Doing Better at Doing Good” for the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer. Carol Welsh stopped by Langley with her mother for a tour of the campus in the fall and enjoyed catching up with former teachers. Carol is pictured below (middle) with Athletic Director Jim Gleason and language arts teacher Kathy Pascal.

2000 Lauren (Black) Shannon married Leck Shannon on August 6, 2011. Numerous friends from Langley’s Class of 2000 were in attendance. Pictured above from left to right are: Shruti Gupta, Beth Brokaw, Jaedra DiGiammarino, Lauren (Black) Shannon, Priya Agarwal, Kathleen Jennings, and Kelcey (Moore) Moriarty.

2001 Meredith DiMattina moved to North Carolina in 2005 where she has been living ever since. She began working in the nonprofit immigration field not long after graduating from college, and in 2010, was hired by Elon University to help with the inception of their new clinical program dubbed the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic. In this role, she represents vulnerable elderly and disabled political refugees from around the world in their pursuit of U.S. citizenship

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alumni

News with federal benefit applications and federal hearings. Meredith has a 4-year-old son named Ethan (pictured at left) and a rescue greyhound named Beefy. She recently bought a HUDforeclosed townhouse which she has been repairing. Andrew Rohrbach began law school at Harvard University last fall. He attended Yale University as an undergraduate then worked as an assistant to a judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

2002 Kate Hahn (pictured at right) is living in Omaha, NE, from September 2011 to May 2012 as an intern in the Resurrection House Program, in association with the Episcopal Service Corps. As part of this program, she lives in an intentional community, a community model based on shared simplicity, time, and prayer, with two other Resurrection House interns. Kate splits her internship time between two jobs – one at a local church parish and one at the nonprofit Omaha Together One Community.

Class of 1997 Reunion On Friday, December 23, members of Langley’s Class of 1997 met at One Lounge in Washington’s DuPont Circle for a 15-year class reunion. The event was well attended with 13 Langley alumni as well as several spouses and significant others. The reunion was organized by alumni Nik Raman, Jen Schadoff, Erica Gminski, and Anita Butani. Front row (l to r): Aaron Lasher, Golnar Oveyssi; second row (l to r): Suzanne Mahoney, Anita Butani, Courtney Grosvenor; third row (1 to r): Erica Gminski, Jen Schadoff, Anne Rousselot, Sarah Banks, Rachel Garver, Monica Kohli; back row (l to r): Fareed Melhem, Adam Reisig, Nik Raman

the langley school experience

2006 Takahiro Nakamura was named a Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar at Bowdoin College, an honor based on academic performance.

2008 Bennett Silverman is a senior at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. Last summer, he took part in an oceanographic expedition aboard a research ship off the coast of Turkey. See page 23 for more about Bennett’s adventure at sea. Maggie Thompson, a senior at The Potomac School, interned at the California Institute of Technology for the past two summers where she worked with scientists studying infrared astronomy and discovering brown dwarf stars. She hopes to study astrophysics in college.

2009 Nik Padmanabhan currently attends McLean High School. Earlier this year, he was chosen for the All-District High School Band, earning third chair trombone out of 51 students who auditioned.

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Pictured at left: Members of Langley’s Class of 2011 returned to campus in October for the annual Fall Fair. Graduates posed with Langley’s new leopard mascot which they purchased for the school last June as their class gift.

2010 Arianna Copito is a sophomore at The Madeira School and loves it. A boarding student this year, she serves as class president, an admissions ambassador, a swing sister, and a member of Model UN and also participates in varsity sports and numerous clubs. In addition, Arianna works as a production assistant for a national correspondent at WJLA and recently applied for an internship on Capitol Hill.

2011 Josh Copito is enjoying his first year at Landon School where he plays football and varsity rugby and participates in community service activities.

In Memoriam Mark Robbins, who was currently serving as a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Langley, died unexpectedly at the age of 53 on February 8, 2012. He is survived by his wife, Grace; son, Joey; daughter, Lizzie; and his mother, sister, and two brothers. See page 10 for more about Mr. Robbins’ impact on the Langley community and to learn how you can contribute to the memorial fund the school has created in his honor. Evelyn Swindler – a beloved teacher who taught preschool and second grade in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s – passed away on November 5, 2011, at the age of 98. During her Langley days, Mrs. Swindler was an eager naturalist who led her students on daily outdoor nature hunts and helped them plant a garden each spring. She is also remembered for frequently taking her students ice skating on nearby Evans Farm Pond during the winter months.

Coming May 29...

Class of 2008 Family Reunion Members of Langley’s Class of 2008 and their parents are invited to attend a family reunion on Tuesday, May 29 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. in Langley’s Jeffrey J. Sherman Arts Center. Join your classmates for a chance to reconnect before heading off to college in the fall. Additional information about the reunion will be posted on Langley’s Facebook page later this spring.

Share Your News: The Langley School welcomes all alumni

to share their academic or personal successes, career changes or news, marriages, birth announcements, and any other news of interest with their fellow classmates and the Langley community. To submit your notes and photos for publication, log on to the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org or e-mail Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Shannon Ryan at sryan@ langleyschool.org.

the langley school experience

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Remember When? A Look at Langley’s Past...

Above: In March 2005, Langley Middle School students presented their spring play, “Here Come the Cows,” an “udderly” ridiculous melodrama featuring 17 cast members. At Right: In 1966, the school began the planning and construction of a fourstage master plan that added four new buildings to the campus on Balls Hill Road, beginning with the groundbreaking for a new preschool building. Below: Members of Langley’s Class of 2007 enjoyed a taste of Colonial life during their fall 2006 trip to Williamsburg, VA.

the langley school experience

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Reconnect With Langley Today! • Submit your news and Class Notes or update your contact information in the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org

• Join Langley’s alumni page on Facebook (find us under “The Langley School Alumni Group”)

• Join our new LinkedIn alumni group to build your professional network (find us under “The Langley School Alumni Group”)

• Contact your class representative (a list of class reps can be found in the alumni section of www.langleyschool.org)

• Contact Langley’s Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Shannon

Ryan with questions, ideas, or news at sryan@langleyschool.org or (703) 356-1920, ext. 871 the langley school experience

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID McLean, VA 22101 Permit No. 48

The Langley School 1411 Balls Hill Road McLean, VA 22101-3415 www.langleyschool.org (703) 356-1920

the langley school Academic Enrichment & Review

summer studi Fine Arts

Science

Sports

Technology

CLASSES: 50 unique summer offerings for all interests

AGES: Enrolling students in preschool to grade 8

DATES: Five weekly sessions June 25 – August 3, 2012

LOCATION: Langley’s campus at 1411 Balls Hill Road in McLean,VA

NOW registering at www.langleyschool.org/summerstudio!